Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres
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Cultural Centre of Spain in Nicaragua
Since its creation in 2010, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Nicaragua (CCSN) has been associated with Spanish Cooperation through its counterpart, the Nicaraguan Institute of Hispanic Culture, and has been working since 2016 towards its definitive conversion into an Overseas Cooperation Unit, that is, a fully integrated unit within the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). Today, the CCSN is an acknowledged benchmark for cultural activities in Managua, as a unique place for encounter and exchange. Very few similar institutions in Nicaragua can offer a similar range of alternative programming with such highquality projects and activities. The CCSN is located near the Embassy of Spain, in the residential neighbourhood of Las Colinas, well outside the city centre. This distancing is associated with safety, peace and quiet, which makes the CCSN an attractive venue for the people of Managua. The building was renovated to adapt it to the needs of the Centre and the local cultural sector, and the site is characterised by its broad, open spaces, including a large garden containing many fruit trees and an outdoor area with a versatile scenic space that is used for workshops, concerts, film screenings and other activities. The Centre also has a multi-purpose room that is particularly suitable for exhibitions and lectures, a radio station, a library and a multimedia laboratory. Importantly for its users, the CCSN is one of the few cultural spaces in the city that has no architectural barriers to mobility. The city authorities donated the site to Spain in 1974 for cultural use. In return, the centre agreed to host the Nicaraguan Institute of Hispanic Culture (INCH) and the Nicaraguan Academy of Language within the building. These facilities, therefore, are shared by the three institutions. In addition to the infrastructure, the strongest asset of the CCSN is its personnel, whose degree of
training and professional experience is exceptional in Nicaragua. One of the characteristic elements of the Centre’s functioning is its ceaseless endeavour to involve the local cultural sector and Nicaraguan society as a whole in its activities. For this reason, the selection of projects and programmes is always based on external, open calls for participation that are published on the Centre’s website. Thus, artists, cultural managers and planners play a direct role in the cultural agenda of the CCSN, which enables innovative projects from different fields to be presented. Every year, a call for participation is published, taking into account the Centre’s goals and priorities, on the basis of which the projects for the following year are chosen. The authors of those selected then receive guidance to ensure that their work is in line with the Centre’s procedures and lines of action. In addition to this annual general call for participation, specific calls are made throughout the year in order to balance the programming and to ensure that all areas of attention are represented. This approach enables the CCSN to determine the current status of the cultural sector (its needs, its potential and its shortcomings), as well as the cultural interests of Nicaraguan society. This selection method also provides ongoing dialogue and ensures the transparency of the process. For the Centre, the underlying principle in this approach is to maximise the impact produced by its activities while consuming the least possible amount of economic resources, and to act in a way that is consistent with its operational context. The open policy pursued in the reception and consideration of projects reinforces the Centre’s connection with society and ensures economic transparency and efficiency. Apart from the projects selected by means of the above public process, activities are also organised
